Bloomington teacher made history as first Black attorney in Indiana
Editor's note: In honor of Black History Month, The Herald-Times is publishing Black stories, both current and historical, throughout the month of February. A new installment will be published each weekday.
On his deathbed, William F. Teister was deeply contemplative of how he would be remembered, as if he knew his story would continue to be spotlighted even 145 years after his passing.
A dedicated educator and Freemason, Teister had many passions and pastimes, but it was his legal achievement that cemented his part in state history — with Bloomington sharing an impressive footnote. It was right here in Monroe County that Teister became the first African American man to be admitted to the bar in Indiana.
Read the full collection:Black History Month in Bloomington: what to know, where to go and who to follow
Teister was born in North Carolina in 1837 and first came to Indiana through a teaching position in Connersville. After a few other assignments, he arrived in Bloomington in 1875. He lived here for about eight years.
During this time, he became an active educator for Black youth. In the late summer of 1877, he retained a teaching position at the city's segregated school, then-called the "Colored School" on Sixth Street, alongside his wife, Margaret. He appears to have quickly risen through the ranks, being referred to as the school's principal by 1878. That same year, on May 25, he was admitted to the Bar of Monroe Circuit Court.
As noted by multiple news publications at the time, he's considered the first Black attorney in the state of Indiana.
Despite being legally able to practice law, he remained in his teaching post in Bloomington for several years. He received an annual salary of $550 at the school, as noted in a 1882 report by the now-defunct Bloomington Republican Progress. In 1884, Teister was the administrative steward of 32 male and 24 female students. Teister eventually moved on from Bloomington, working at other segregated schools throughout Indiana.
According to his obituary in the Indianapolis Recorder, Teister died at age 78 in 1915 after a weeks-long unnamed illness.
"This morning about eight-thirty he asked for some person to write while he dictated some of the facts of his life. While speaking he died," according the Indianapolis Recorder.
In fulfillment of his last words, this is how Teister wanted to be remembered.
"Mr. Teister had been a resident of Crawfordsville and a teacher of Lincoln school for eleven years. He had been prominent in colored Masonry, having been grand master of the lodge for five years. He was a member of the A.M.E. church."
This article originally appeared on The Herald-Times: William F. Teister, first Black man to pass Indiana bar, in Bloomington
